22nd May 2025
Running for Nana: Hospice at Home care inspires London Marathon fundraiser
In April, Hannah ran the London Marathon in less than four hours and raised over £2,700 for Nottinghamshire Hospice. She completed the marathon in memory of her nana, Christine Sills.
Christine’s Story
Christine, who lived in Nottingham all her life, lived locally to Nottinghamshire Hospice in the early 1980s. Hannah’s Uncle David even remembers the family attending the annual hospice Summer Fayres. In 2002, following surgery, Christine was diagnosed with bowel cancer. She was 61 years old and Hannah was aged 7. Christine had also been living with multiple sclerosis since she was aged 40.
Hannah explains, “My nana had continued to work until she was 60. Her mobility had become more compromised as she’d got older, but she always showed great determination. She underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy throughout summer 2002 but we knew that this was not for a cure. She had been offered the services of the Hospice by the nurses at Nottingham City Hospital. My grandad was Nana’s main carer mainly due to her mobility. She contacted the Hospice and started to spend Wednesday there each week. The Hospice were kind enough to send a driver for her. My family remember Nana coming home really happy and full of stories of the activities she had been doing throughout her days there, the people she had met and the comradery. It certainly helped her with her cancer journey. It also gave my grandad valuable time out.”
Hospice at Home: A lifeline for the whole family
Christine’s health deteriorated in Spring 2003, when she was aged 62. She was admitted to hospital and her family were told that she didn’t have much time left. Christine came home and Hannah’s uncle moved back into the family home to assist Hannah’s grandad with her care.
Hannah shared with us, “This was very demanding as Nana had complex needs due to her lack of mobility with multiple sclerosis. District nurses were attending and they suggested we contact Nottinghamshire Hospice to ask if they could provide overnight care so that my grandad and uncle could get some rest. The Hospice provided palliative care assistants to stay with Nana overnight. They arrived at 10pm and left at 6am. My uncle tells me they were such a lifeline for the whole family and having them enabled Nana to be at home with the family throughout her final days. They were always so very supportive and caring with compassion, their priority being Nana’s comfort, modesty and dignity.”
On the evening of 8th June 2003, the care assistant arrived at 10pm. Christine was very poorly. Realising it might not be long before she died, the care assistant made Christine comfortable and called Hannah’s mum and other uncle – who soon arrived at the house.
Hannah explains, “All the family and the care assistant were together with Nana when she passed. None of this could have been done without Nottinghamshire Hospice and their amazing staff.”
Thank you, Hannah, for all your amazing hard work fundraising and marathon training!